Watching Kenya aim his pitch-black fists at Hokage Rock, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Those were the statues of the Hokage through the ages, the spiritual symbol of Konoha!
Never, not even in his dreams, had he imagined that Kenya's target would be there.
"Have you gone mad?!"
The Third Hokage let out a furious roar of horror.
Abandoning all concern for the dignity of an elder, he swung the Adamantine Staff in his hands and smashed it hard toward Kenya's back.
The Adamantine Staff howled through the air like a flood dragon bursting from the sea, its strike heavy and powerful.
"Old man, that stick of yours is limp. There's no strength behind it!"
Kenya did not even look back, let alone turn around.
He merely threw a casual backhand punch behind him.
His fist, wrapped in darkly gleaming Armament Haki, struck the tip of the Adamantine Staff with perfect accuracy.
Clang-!
A deafening crash erupted across the rooftop, resounding like a great bell.
The Third Hokage felt an overwhelming recoil surge through the Adamantine Staff.
The webbing between his thumb and forefinger split instantly, spilling blood.
The Adamantine Staff trembled violently and let out a pained wail.
The old man known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu" was actually driven back five or six steps by sheer physical strength.
Only after hitting the rooftop railing did he barely steady himself.
Seeing this, the surrounding Anbu ninja cried out and prepared to form hand seals to attack.
But Kenya gave them no chance.
Using the recoil, he pushed off hard with both legs.
Boom!
His feet blasted a huge crater straight into the Hokage Building's sturdy rooftop, with cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
Kenya shot into the air in an instant, like a rocket launching from the ground.
Fierce wind howled past his ears.
Suspended in midair, Kenya looked down over the bustling Konoha below.
The Senju Wood Release Cells within his body worked furiously at that moment.
"Wood Release!"
There were no hand seals, only a low roar.
At his will, both his arms swelled in an instant.
Countless iron-black wooden fibers surged wildly from his wrists.
In the blink of an eye, two black wooden fists as massive as small mountains took shape in the air.
This was no ordinary Wood Release.
This was Black Iron Wood Release, compressed to the utmost with Armament Haki and far harder than steel!
The two enormous black fists blotted out the sunlight.
Their vast shadow shrouded half of Hokage Rock.
Below, countless Konoha villagers and ninja who had heard the commotion looked up.
Everyone froze when they saw the sight in the sky, like the descent of a demon god.
"Wh... what is that?"
"Those black fists are enormous! Who's using that Ninjutsu?"
Among the crowd, a masked youth wearing an Anbu uniform stood in the shadows.
It was Uchiha Itachi.
Through the holes in his mask, he stared fixedly at the figure in the air, who looked like a god of war.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in his eyes.
But even the Sharingan could not see through that black power to determine what it was.
Senju Kenya...
Itachi silently repeated the name, shocked beyond measure.
In midair, Kenya drew a deep breath.
Every muscle in his body tightened to its limit, and he pushed his Armament Haki to the utmost.
Dark red lightning flickered faintly over the two enormous black iron wooden fists.
"The Will of Fire, huh?"
"Konoha High Command, huh?"
Looking down at the lifelike statue of the First Hokage, Kenya's lips curled into a savage smile.
"Today, I'm going to use these fists to wipe your Konoha's fifty years of merit back to zero!"
His words fell.
Kenya sharply twisted his waist, driving those two enormous black iron wooden fists down hard toward Hokage Rock.
"Fist Bone Meteor!"
Rumble-!
This was no explosion. It was pure physical impact.
The moment those two pitch-black giant fists slammed into the forehead of the First Hokage's statue.
All of Konoha shook violently.
It was as though a magnitude-ten earthquake had struck.
Before those Haki-wrapped black iron wooden fists, the incredibly hard rock was as fragile as crumbled tofu.
The First Hokage's majestic stone head evaporated upon contact!
It turned into stone dust and fragments that flew through the sky.
But the force did not stop.
Like a force-twelve hurricane, the terrifying wind from the punches swept farther downward, carrying the power to destroy everything.
Crack! Crack!
Enormous fissures spread wildly through the mountainside of Hokage Rock.
Before the utterly horrified eyes of countless people of Konoha.
Hokage Mountain, the symbol of Konoha's highest glory, which had stood for decades.
Actually had half of it smashed into collapse!
Countless boulders weighing hundreds of tons came crashing down into the woods below, sending dust billowing into the sky.
The statues of the Second Hokage and Third Hokage were also shaken beyond recognition by the terrifying shock waves, their faces utterly ruined.
The whole world seemed to fall into deathly silence at that moment.
Everyone stood with their mouths wide open, forgetting even to breathe.
Only the dust filling the sky churned in the sunlight.
On the Hokage Building's rooftop, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's legs gave out, and he fell straight to his knees.
He stared at the devastated Hokage Rock, his whole body trembling like chaff in a sieve.
"This... this is impossible..."
"How could he have such terrifying power..."
This was no longer Taijutsu. It was nothing short of divine punishment!
A full half minute passed before the dust blotting out the sky and sun slowly began to clear.
As if waking from a dream, the Anbu ninja used the Body Flicker Technique and rushed madly toward Hokage Rock.
"Quick! Catch him!"
"We can't let him get away!"
Yet when they broke through the dust and reached the ruins.
They found the place completely empty.
Senju Kenya had long since vanished without a trace.
All that remained were rubble strewn across the ground and the mountainside with an enormous crater smashed into it.
Just then, a sharp-eyed Anbu ninja spotted a sheet of white paper at the edge of the crater.
An ordinary kunai pinned the paper firmly to a piece of rubble.
He carefully pulled out the kunai and unfolded the paper.
The handwriting on it swept boldly across the page, carrying an utterly brazen, bandit-like air.
Supported by two Anbu, the Third Hokage stumbled over.
He snatched the note and swept his gaze over the writing.
"Old men, wash your necks and wait for me to come back."